Building mixtures and chemicals disguised as global brands: underground producers of counterfeit fertilizers to face trial in Kyiv region

 Members of an organized criminal group who set up large-scale manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit agrochemicals disguised as products of famous global brands will face trial. The damages caused to just one of the global brands exceed a UAH 1.5 million.

Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Kyiv region have completed a pretrial investigation regarding the members of the organized criminal group who organized a full cycle of manufacturing counterfeit plant protection products.

The investigation established that the suspects had significant experience in the field of agriculture and detailed knowledge of the agricultural products market. In unsuitable premises in the Mykolaiv region, they manually mixed unknown chemicals, food additives, and even building mixtures. In this manner, the dealers manufactured a dangerous counterfeit under the guise of high-quality fertilizers.

The finished products were packed into counterfeit containers and labeled with branded symbols. The counterfeit goods were sold to agricultural enterprises throughout Ukraine via the internet, messengers, and postal operators.

During the authorized searches, ESBU detectives seized large batches of the finished counterfeit goods, over 2,000 units of branded packaging containers, specialized bottling equipment, raw materials, and significant amounts of cash. The conducted expert examinations confirmed that the amount of damages caused to just one of the trademark owners exceeded a UAH 1.5 million.

Currently, three members of the organized groups have been notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 229 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal use of a trademark for goods and services, or a trade name, if it caused material damage on an especially large scale, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy). The criminal case files, along with the indictment, have been referred to court.

Operational support was provided by officers of the Cyberpolice Department of the National Police of Ukraine. The prosecution is overseen by prosecutors from the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Office of the Prosecutor General.